The Secretary of Education seeks the consent of the State Board of Education to amend 14 DE Admin. Code 107A Specialist Appraisal Process Delaware Performance Appraisal System (DPAS II) Revised. For ease of reading, the regulation has been provided in its entirety. The revisions include, but are not limited to, the vertical articulation and symmetry of language across the majority of Appraisal Criteria, Component, and Summative ratings areas, an increase in the weight of the observational Components and a decrease in the weight of the Student Improvement Component in certain summative scenarios, and an overall shift to Annual Appraisal Cycles for all specialists. This regulation is being amended to ensure continuity of language in the Appraisal Criteria, Component and Summative ratings section and to ensure the shift to Annual Appraisal Cycles for all specialists (to begin in the 2017-2018 school year). The proposed revisions respond to stakeholder feedback, in particular the direction of the DPAS-II Advisory Committee, by further streamlining the evaluation system, giving administrators greater ability to differentiate support, and promoting a greater emphasis on the annual processes of observation, feedback, and professional growth.

Notice of the proposed regulation was published in the News Journal and the Delaware State News on April 27, 2015, in the form hereto attached as Exhibit "A". Comments were received from Governor's Advisory Council for Exceptional Citizens, the State Council for Persons with Disabilities, and the Delaware State Education Association. Several teachers and the Supervisor of Instruction for Capital School District on behalf of the Capital District Administrator Association submitted comments relative to 106A and 107A, with those comments addressed in both orders.

The Secretary finds that it is appropriate to amend 14 DE Admin. Code 107A Specialist Appraisal Process Delaware Performance Appraisal System (DPAS II) Revised in order to revise the vertical articulation and symmetry of language across the majority of Appraisal Criteria, Component, and Summative ratings areas, an increase in the weight of the observational Components and a decrease in the weight of the Student Improvement Component in certain summative scenarios, and an overall shift to Annual Appraisal Cycles for all specialists. This regulation is being amended to ensure continuity of language in the Appraisal Criteria, Component and Summative ratings section and to identify the shift to Annual Appraisal Cycles for all specialists (to begin in the 2016-2017 school year). The proposed revisions respond to stakeholder feedback by further streamlining the evaluation system, giving administrators greater ability to differentiate support, and promoting a greater emphasis on the annual processes of observation, feedback, and professional growth.

For the foregoing reasons, the Secretary concludes that it is appropriate to amend 14 DE Admin. Code 107ASpecialist Appraisal Process Delaware Performance Appraisal System (DPAS II) Revised. Therefore, pursuant to 14 Del.C. §122, 14 DE Admin. Code 107A Specialist Appraisal Process Delaware Performance Appraisal System (DPAS II) Revised attached hereto as Exhibit "B" is hereby amended. Pursuant to the provision of 14 Del.C. §122(e), 14 DE Admin. Code 107A Specialist Appraisal Process Delaware Performance Appraisal System (DPAS II) Revised hereby amended shall be in effect for a period of five years from the effective date of this order as set forth in Section V. below.

The text of 14 DE Admin. Code 107A Specialist Appraisal Process Delaware Performance Appraisal System (DPAS II) Revised amended hereby shall be in the form attached hereto as Exhibit "B", and said regulation shall be cited as 14 DE Admin. Code 107ASpecialist Appraisal Process Delaware Performance Appraisal System (DPAS II) Revised in the Administrative Code of Regulations for the Department of Education.

“Announced Observation”shall consist ofmeans the observation form and conference with the Credentialed Observer, an observation by the Credentialed Observer at an agreed upon date and time, using the associated formative conferences and reports. The observation for the specialist may be a collection of data over a specified period of time, up to four (4) weeks, or it may be an observation of sufficient length, at least thirty (30) minutes, to gather appropriate data and assess specialist performance.

“Board”shall means a local board of education or a charter school board of directors.

"Credentialed Observer" shall means an individual, not always the supervisor of the specialist, who has successfully completed DPAS II credentialing in accordance with 10.0. Credentialed Observer denotes any individual who may conduct observations as part of a specialist’s appraisal process. The term Credentialed Observer encompasses those administrators who are Evaluators.

“DPAS II Revised Guide for Specialists” shall means the manual that contains the prescribed forms, detailed procedures, specific details about the five (5) components of evaluation and other relevant documents that are used to implement the appraisal process.

“Evaluator”shall means a Credentialed Observer who is responsible for a specialist’s Summative Evaluation. A specialist’s required observations as part of the appraisal cycle shall generally be conducted by the assigned Evaluator; however, the assigned Evaluator may designate a school administrator who is also a Credentialed Observer to conduct the required observations.

“Experienced Specialist”shall means a specialist who holds a valid and current Continuing or Advanced License, issued pursuant to Chapter 12 of Title 14 of the Delaware Code; or Standard or Professional Status Certificate issued prior to August 1, 2003 or holds a valid and current license from his or her respective licensure body.

“Improvement Plan”shall bemeans the plan that a specialist and Evaluator mutually develop in accordance with 8.0.

[“Interim assessment” shall means an assessment given at regular and specified intervals throughout the school year, and designed to evaluate students’ knowledge and skills relative to a specific set of academic standards, and the results of which can be aggregated (e.g., by course, grade level, school, or school district) in order to inform teachers, administrators, and specialists at the student, classroom, school, and district levels.]

“Novice Specialist”shall means a specialist who holds a valid and current Initial License issued pursuant to Chapter 12 of Title 14 of the Delaware Code or holds a valid and current license from his or her respective licensure body.

“Satisfactory Component Rating” shall mean the specialist’s performance demonstratesan understanding of the concepts of the component under Chapter 12 of Title 14 of the Delaware Code.

“Satisfactory Evaluation” shall be equivalent to the overall Highly Effective or Effective rating on the Summative Evaluation and shall be used to qualify for a continuing license.

"Specialist"shall means an educator other than a teacher or administrator and includes, but is not limited to, School Counselors, Library Media Specialists, School Psychologists, and School Nurses.

“Student Growth” shall means the change in Student Achievement data for an individual student between two points in time. Growth may also include other measures that are rigorous and comparable across classrooms.

“Summative Evaluation”shall means the comprehensive, end-of-cycle appraisal and shall incorporate the results of the minimum required observations and required component-level data. At the discretion of the Evaluator, it may also include additional Announced or Unannounced observation data, beyond the required observation data, provided by other Credentialed Observers.

“Unannounced Observation”shall consist ofmeans an observation by a Credentialed Observer at a date and time that has not been previously arranged using the associated formative conferences and reports, and which may include the use of the observation form. The observation shall be of sufficient length, at least thirty (30) minutes, to gather appropriate data and assess specialist performance.

“Unsatisfactory Component Rating” shall mean the specialist’s performance does not demonstrate an understanding of the concepts of the component.

“Unsatisfactory Evaluation” shall be the equivalent to the overall “Needs Improvement” or Ineffective rating on the Summative Evaluation as it pertains to educators seeking a continuing license.

“Working Day”shall means a day when the employee would normally be working in that district or charter school.

6.1 Each Appraisal Component shall be weighted equally and assigned a rating of Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory on the Summative Evaluation.Each of the first four (4) Appraisal Components shall be assigned a rating of "Highly Effective," "Effective," "Needs Improvement" or "Ineffective" on the Summative Evaluation. The rating for the Student Improvement Component shall be assigned a rating of "Exceeds," "Satisfactory" or "Unsatisfactory" on the Summative Evaluation. The rating for each of the five (5) Appraisal Components shall reflect the standards as described in the DPAS II Revised Guides for Specialists.

6.1.1 A satisfactory"Highly Effective" or "Effective" rating for each of the first four Appraisal Components shall mean the specialist has no more than one unacceptable rating on the Appraisal Criteria specified in each of the components. Appraisal Criteria observed shall be rated on each observation conducted and Appraisal Criteria also shall be assigned an overall rating in a specialist's Summative Evaluation.

6.2.1 Highly Effective shall mean that the specialist has earned a Satisfactory Component Rating in at least four (4) of the five (5) Appraisal Components in accordance with 5.0, including an Exceeds rating in the Student Improvement Component meaning that the students collectively demonstrate high rates of student growth, as defined in the DPAS II Revised Guide for Specialists, as the same may be amended from time to time, developed pursuant to 4.0 of this regulation."Highly Effective" shall mean that the specialist has earned an "Effective" or "Highly Effective" rating in the first four (4) Appraisal Components and an Exceeds rating in the Student Improvement Component.

6.2.2 Effective shall mean that:"Effective" shall mean that the specialist has earned an "Effective" or "Highly Effective" rating in at least three (3) of the first four (4) Appraisal Components with zero (0) Ineffective ratings and a "Satisfactory" or "Exceeds" rating in the Student Improvement Component.

6.2.2.1 The specialist has earned a Satisfactory Component Rating in at least three (3) Appraisal Components, including a Satisfactory rating in the Student Improvement Component, and"Effective" may also mean, in accordance with procedures outlined in the DPAS II Guide for Specialists, that the specialist has earned a "Highly Effective" rating in two of the first (four) Appraisal Components with zero (0) "Ineffective" ratings and an "Unsatisfactory" rating in the Student Improvement Component.

6.2.3.1 The specialist has earned one (1) or two (2) Satisfactory Component Ratings out of the five (5) Appraisal Components in accordance with 5.0, including a Satisfactory rating in the Student Improvement Component, orThe specialist has earned "Effective" or "Highly Effective" ratings in one (1) or two (2) of the first four (4) Appraisal Components with zero (0), one (1) or two (2) "Ineffective" ratings and a "Satisfactory" or "Exceeds" rating in the Student Improvement Component, or

6.2.3.2 The specialist has earned three (3) or four (4) Satisfactory Component Ratings out of the five (5) Appraisal Components in accordance with 5.0, and the specialist has earned an Unsatisfactory rating in the Student Improvement Component.The specialist has earned "Effective" or "Highly Effective" ratings in three (3) or four (4) of the first four (4) Appraisal Components and an Unsatisfactory rating in the Student Improvement Component, or

6.2.4.1 The specialist has earned zero (0), one (1), or two (2) Satisfactory Component Ratings out of the five (5) Appraisal Components in accordance with 5.0, andThe specialist has earned "Effective" or "Highly Effective" ratings in zero (0), one (1), or two (2) of the first four (4) Appraisal Components and an "Unsatisfactory" rating in the Student Improvement Component, or

6.2.4.2 The specialist has earned an Unsatisfactory Component Rating in the School Improvement Component.The specialist has earned "Effective" or "Highly Effective" ratings in zero (0) of the first four (4) Appraisal Components and "Satisfactory" or "Exceeds" rating in the Student Improvement Component; or